In the field of computer hardware, it is generally desirable to test arrays of storage and/or processing elements to identify malfunctioning elements. Malfunctioning elements are generally identified by comparing data contained in such elements to an appropriate data template. If one or more malfunctioning elements are identified, appropriate substitution of new hardware locations for the malfunctioning elements is generally implemented.
One prior art approach involves employing hardware to store a bitmap of an array or other hardware architecture being examined. This bitmap generally catalogues locations, possibly by row and column number, of elements containing erroneous data within the array. A corrective operation may then substitute nearby areas on a chip for malfunctioning elements, or for contiguous sequences of elements which include malfunctioning elements. Generally, the bitmap includes data sufficient to describe an entirety of an array or other data processing architecture under test, thereby generally requiring a substantial amount of space on a silicon chip.
One problem associated with the bitmap approach is that considerable silicon area is generally needed to store data sufficient to fully identify the state of an array. In addition, the data processing resources required to process the bitmap and identify an optimal repair strategy generally demand complex on-chip circuitry. The bitmap approach may be implemented off-chip using an external tester having a separate microprocessor. However, when employing such an off-chip solution, a full repair will generally be required at the time the chip is tested. In addition, when using the bitmap approach, both the row and column of a malfunctioning element have to be known for a memory segment repair to be effectively conducted.
Therefore, it is a problem in the art that the bitmap diagnostic approach generally requires allocating a considerable amount of chip space for bitmap storage and processing.
It is a further problem in the art that the data processing resources associated with the bitmap approach generally demand complex circuitry, if implemented on-chip.